"Lead by expatriate Jim Elkington (of the British-based bands Sophia and Elevate), The Zincs play brooding pop music rooted in the mysterious sounds of America and Britain to which the band grew up listening. In 2000, Elkington was lured from England by Chicago's lush music scene and began to experiment with the songwriting style that would lead to his forming The Zincs. Dimmer also showcases a wide range of songwriting styles. The songs 'Bad Shepherds' and 'Passengers' are influenced by '60s English and American folk music, from Pentangle to Michael Hurley, while 'Beautiful Lawyers' marks a transition from older, more familiar acoustic material towards a more layered blend of guitars and electronics. Yet at the core of Dimmer lie Elkington's soothing vocals which land somewhere between Leonard Cohen and a hangover-ridden David Bowie. His vibrato-tinged, baritone voice floats effortlessly over Spanish style guitars and melodic keyboard bleeps and drones, setting the tone of the intimate and heart-felt album."